This new poinsettia cultivar originated as a white bracted sport of `Peterstar` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,259) in my greenhouse in Skibby, Denmark in 1991. It was induced through irradiation of vegetative plants with 2500 rads of gamma radiation, and was selected from about 200 mutants so produced, because of its white bracts, large flowers, strong stems, self-branching, and dark green leaves, traits which help distinguish it from other poinsettia cultivars, and seemed to make it a desirable plant for commercial greenhouse production. `Peterstar White` differed from its parent `Peterstar` in having creamy white bracts as compared to the bright red bracts of `Peterstar`. `Peterstar White` resembles poinsettia `21-85` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,250) but distinctly differs in color, growth habit and flowering response.
Phenotypically, `Peterstar White` resembles its parent `Peterstar` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,259) except for those traits associated with color mutations. The morphology, plant vigor and flowering response times are similar in `Peterstar White` and `Peterstar`. The flower bract color of `Peterstar White` is creamy white near R.H.S. 8D. In contrast, the red bract color of `Peterstar` is near R.H.S. 46B. The leaf petiole color of `Peterstar White` is light green while that of `Peterstar White` is red.
After selection, `Peterstar White` was vegetatively reproduced from stem cuttings for test purposes in Encinitas, Calif. By subjecting clones of this plant to successive generations of vegetation propagation, it was demonstrated that the distinctive characteristics of `Peterstar White` held true from generation to generation. Grown under the same greenhouse environment, `Peterstar White` has the same growth habit and flowering response time as the parent plant `Peterstar`.